Americans Say Transportation Spending Is Inefficient

A new poll of 1,000 adults finds 73 percent of Americans believe the government spends existing transportation funding inefficiently.

At the same time, 46 percent of Americans think the federal government needs to spend more money on transportation infrastructure than it does today, 30 percent think the government needs to spend about the same amount as now, and 21 percent believe the federal government should spend less on transportation.

The study, conducted by Reason-Rupe, also finds 85 percent of Americans oppose raising the federal gas tax.

Mileage-based user fees are often discussed as the future of transportation funding, however 72 percent of Americans tell Reason-Rupe they oppose eliminating the gas tax and replacing it with a fee based on the number of miles driven.

Only 23 percent favor replacing the gas tax with a mileage fee. When asked about a specific funding challenge – paying for needed repairs and the expansion of existing Interstate highways, 58 percent of Americans say they’d rather pay for those projects with tolls, while 32 percent would prefer to pay for them by raising the fuel tax.

Category: Featured, General Update